Titulus Crucis

Abstract

According to the Gospel of John, and also some MSS of Luke, the titulus crucis was written in three languages: Έβραιστί (probably meaning Aramaic), Ῥωμαιστἰ, Έλληνιστἰ.. Only John ascribes the inscription to Pilate. With one notable exception (whose irrelevance is explained) the author is not aware of any inscription set up — or, indeed, any sort of document being composed — by a Roman in an official capacity in any language other than Latin and Greek. However, one should bear in mind the wide discretionary powers of Roman governors. Pilate might have used the local vernacular, if he so wished, without consulting models. One detail in John’s narrative seems to suggest that exactly this might have been the case. John alone refers to the inscription by the Latin loan-word titlos, the very word applied to the placard carried before the criminal. This seems to be the first occurrence of the term in both Greek literature and epigraphy; occurrences in later literature are almost exclusively Christian texts, often using the term in the context of the titulus crucis. We cannot separate John’s statements as to the nature of the inscription from his referring to it as a titlos: the two come together from the same source. The employment of the (in Greek) unprecedented Roman term for the inscription lends it credibility: Pilate could have ignored (or have been ignorant of) the lack of precedent and used Aramaic, perhaps for the very reason stated by John. If this conclusion is correct, it further strengthens the claims for the historicity of John’s account of the trial and death of Jesus as against the Synoptic tradition.